The Beothuk Indians, In: Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 22(120):408-424

Gatschet.] 408 [June 19,

the bone. The latter is oval and convex, and its thin edge is divided by-
fine grooves more closely placed than in the species described by Fritsch,
which terminate in fissures separating delicate teeth. See Fauna der Gas-
kohle und der Kalksteine der Permformation Boehmens, p. 122, PI. 20.

Similar bodies were found by myself in the fresh- water beds of the
Laramie formation of Montana, and described under the name of Arotus
hierogylphicus. (Bulletin U. S. Geol. Survey Terrs., F. V. Hayden, iii,
1877, p. 574.) The shaft of this body is not curved, and the body is flat-
tened. As specimens of the batrachian genus Scapherpeton are abundant
in this formation and locality, it is not unlikely that these comb-like bones
are their claspers.

THE BEOTHUK INDIANS.

By Albert S. Gatschet.

First Article.

{Read before the American Philosophical Society, Jane 19 > 1885.)

The Beothuk or Red Indians are the aboriginal people of the isle of
Newfoundland, and their presence there is attested as early as the six-
teenth century. Nevertheless, we cannot consider them as the autoch-
thons of that extensive country, for insular populations must always have
originated in some mainland or continent.

HISTORIC NOTES.

Newfoundland was discovered by Sebastian Cabot, on his great northern
cruise in 1497, and probably visited also by Gasparo de Cortereal (1500).
Although the Indians were not then identified as Beothuks, Cabot noticed
that they were painted with red ochre and dressed in skins.

In 1527, Oliver Dawbeny saw from his ship Minion the inhabitants of
Newfoundland passing in a boat ; they fled as soon as they perceived that
a ship-boat set out to follow them. At Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, savages
came aboard his ship ; they called the harbor there Cibo, and the name
of their chief was Itarey.*

When Jacques Cartier first reached Newfoundland in 1534, he landed
on May 10 at Cape Bonavista, in the south-eastern part of the island. He
describes the Indians he saw as "of good size, wearing their hair in a
bunch on the top of their heads and adorned with feathers. " A word of
the native language, adhothues, is used by him to designate a fish of a
rather strange appearance, white of color, with a rabbit-shaped head.f

*Hakluyt's Voyages, ed. London, 1810; iii, pp. 168, 169, 245.

fPiscis unusa Quarterio memoratur, magnitudine orcse, colore

plane candido, capite leporino, barbari sua lingua Adhothues appellabant,
etc. Joan, de Laet, Novus Orbis, Libr. ii, p. 42 (Lugd. Bat., 1633.)

The Indians of " Terra Nova" of the early period are also described in Barcia,
Ensayo, pg. 159.

1885.] 409 [Gatschet..

An anonymous Frenchman who wrote in 1539 observes, that the south-
ern coast was then inhabited by tribes which strenuously avoided the
meeting with any strangers ; their faces were painted or tattooed in lines.

In 1574, Frobisher took with him to England one individual from the
island. The explorer Hayes stated (about 1583), that in the south parts
his party "found no inhabitants, which, by all likelihood, have aban-
doned these coastes, the same being so much frequented by Christians.
But on the north are sauages altogether harmlesse."*

Whitbourne, who saw the island in 1622, places the abodes of these
Indians in the north and west part of the country ; they helped the
French and Biscayans in the capture of whales and codfish, and in
Trinity Bay stole at night sails, hatchets, etc. Bonnycastle (i, 258),
thinks that from the first settlement of Newfoundland the Red Indians
chiefly inhabited the north, north-east and north-west near the Fogo and
Twillingatef Islands, and about White Bay and the interior, surprising at
night the fishing stations located there.

After the landing of Micmac Indians from the mainland opposite, the
destinies of the Beothuk aborigines began to take another turn. About
the beginning.of the eighteenth century a body of Micmacs, who speak an
Alg6nkin language, then partly Roman Catholics, came from Nova Scotia,
and settled in western Newfoundland as hunters and fishermen. For
many years they were at good terms with the Beothuk ; but subsequently
quarrels arose, and about 1770 a battle was fought between the two tribes
at the north end of Grand Pond. J. B. Jukes, from whose Excur-
sions in Newfoundland (1842) the above is an extract, gives the proxi-
mate number of Micmacs settled on the island in his time at one hundred
families, chiefly established on the west side, wandering from Fortune
Bay to St. George Bay, White Bay, Bay of Exploits. In 1840 they were
all Roman Catholics, and many of them of a low moral order. The
Beothuks called the Micmacs Shonak, Shawnuk, Shannok, "bad
Indians" (Shanung, Latham), and stated that they first arrived by a
rivulet called Shonak brook, a tributary of the Exploits River ; there they
met them in battle also.

The Red Indians always were at good terms with the Labradorian
Algonkins of the coast and interior: the Naskapi, Montagnais, or as they
called them, Shoudamunk. They mutually visited each others' countries,
traded with them, and it is not unfair to conjecture that some Red Indians
may be there now after their expulsion from the island, the distance from
the continent being only 10-12 miles at the nearest point, the Strait of
Belle-Isle.

Since every nation considers the territory which it occupies as belong-
ing to it by natural right, foreigners encroaching upon the hunting and
fishing-grounds were of course punished by the Beothuks with all the
means which their weakness in numbers could aflord ; and the constant

* Bonnycastle, Newfoundland in 1842, Vol, i, p. 253.
■fThe anglicized form of the French name Toulinguet.

PROC. AMER. PHILOS. SOC. XXII. 120. 2z. PRINTED AUGUST 14, 1885.

Gatschet] 410 [June 19,

pilferings and robberies which the French experienced at the hands of
these natives, brought them to such a pitch of exasperation, that they, in
the middle of the eighteenth century, offered a reward for every head of a
Red Indian. To gain this reward, and also for the value of the fur-skins
which they wore, the Micmacs privately shot them. This brought on the
above-mentioned conflicts and many other personal encounters.

The English never pursued them with the same hatred as the French.
In 1810, Sir Thomas Duckworth issued a proclamation for their protec-
tion. In 1827 some benevolent inhabitants of Newfoundland founded a
society at St. John's to open communication with the Red Indians, to
protect and possibly civilize them. W. E. Cor mack, who in 1822 had
crossed the island from coast to coast for exploration, and left an " Itine-
rary" of his expedition, undertook a similar trip with a retinue in 1827,
but failed to sight a single individual of the mysterious tribe. The last
region where they had been seen were the shores of the River of Exploits
and its tributaries ; this seems to have been one of their main habitats
even in the foregoing centuries. Since then many other travelers have
searched for them ; but nothing except implements and the remains of
their dwellings and stockades were discovered.

TRIBAL NAMES.

The names by which the tribe is known to us are those of " Beothuk,"
and of " Red Indians."

The name of Beothuk has been interpreted differently. Mr. J. P.
Howley mentions an Eskimo word bethuc, said to mean forefoot of deer,
and Rob. Gordon Latham supposed it meant good night in their own lan-
guage, and that the tribe should hence be named the Good Night Indians ;
betheok being the term for "good night" in Mary March's vocabulary.
But Indians generally have some other mode of salutation than this ; and
that word reads in the original manuscript betheoate (not betheok, Lloyd) ;
it is evidently a form of the verb baetha to go home; and thus its real
meaning is: "lam now going home." The spellings of the tribal name
found in the vocabularies are Beothuk, Beothick, B^hathook, Boeothuk
and Beathook ; beothuk means not only Red Indian, of Newfoundland,
but is also the generic expression for Indian, and composes the word
haddabothic body (and belly). Just as many other peoples call them-
selves by the term men, to which Indian is here equivalent, it is but natu-
ral to assume that the Indians of Newfoundland called themselves by the
same word.

Another term Shawatharott or Shawdtharut is given for Bed Indian
man in King's vocabulary ; we find also woas-sut Bed Indian woman, cf.
oosuck wife; its diminutive woas-eeash, woas-eesh Bed Indian girl;
mozazeesh Bed Indian boy.

Bed Indians was the name given to them by the explorers, fishermen or
colonists, because they noticed their habit of painting their utensils, lodges,
boats and their own bodies with red ochre. Sebastian Cabot, the discov-

1385.] 4H.L [Gatschet.

erer, mentions this peculiar habit, and so does J. de Laet, Orbis Novus,
pg. 34: "uterque sexus non moduui cutem sed et vestimenta rubrica
quadam tingit," etc. This ochre they obtained, e. g., at Red Ochre island,
Conception Ray, and mixed it with fat or grease to use it as a substance
for daubing.

The Micmac Indians called them Macquaejeet, Ulno mequaegit, the
Abnakis Ulnobah (Latham), in which alno, ulno means man, Indian.

ETHNOLOGIC NOTES.

From earlier periods we possess but few notices conveying graphic
sketches of the appearance and daily life of the Reothuk Indians. The
most important have been gathered and published in Lloyd's articles ;
hence we can afford to be brief on the subject, for the Journal containing
his sketches is within easy reach of everybody, who is interested in the
matter. We especially recommend Lloyd's first article, with its numerous
historic references.

Joann. de Laet, pg. 34 (1633), writes of them as follows : "Statura cor-
poris sunt mediocri, capillis nigris, lata facie, simis naribus, grandibus
oculis ; mares omnes sunt imberbes ; uterque sexus non modo cutem sed

et vestimenta rubrica quadam tingit Mapalia (lodges) quae-

dam atque humiles casas incolunt e lignis in orbem dispositis et in fastigio
conjunctis .... Vagi ssepius habitationes mutant." De Laet also
gives a description of their curious semilunar or crescent-shaped birch-
bark canoes, resting upon a sharp keel or bottom, and needing considera-
ble ballast to resist upsetting ; they were not over twenty feet long, and
could carry five men at the utmost. Cf. pictures in Lloyd's Treatises.
The Micmac Indians of Newfoundland use skins instead of birch-bark in
the manufacture of their canoes ; cf. Note to Lloyd, iv, p. 26.

Remains have been found of their wigwams, consisting of a frame of
slender poles and covered with birch rind, thirty to forty feet in circum-
ference ; about 1810 a group of twelve of these lodges stood near Cat Har-
bor (Tocque, Newf, p. 504) ; and many other ruined settlements of
theirs were discovered in recent years.

John Peyton describes the Beothuks he saw on Red Indian Lake and else-
where, as follows (Jukes, ii, 126) : "They were fierce and savage (dreaded
by the whites), lived entirely by fishing and hunting, and made their wig-
wams of skins, not of bark like the Micmacs ; these structures were raised
with much skill on wooden platforms. Their dresses were made of deer-
skins, smeared with ochre, like their implements and persons. They were
great thieves, .... and the French had a greater hatred of them
than the English. " Pg. 132-133, Jukes describes their deer- fences, a
series of stockades of trees often running for thirty miles along a river.

Extract from Bonnycastle, p. 266 : The Beothuks used the inner bark
of Pinus balsamifera as food. On the lakes near New Bay, conical winter
wigwams (mattiatech) were discovered, holding about twenty people
each, and vestiges of numerous summer lodges were found in the vicinity ;

Uatschet.] 412 [June 19,

also square and oblong pits for provisions, steam-bath huts covered with
skins and heated with stones. In the burying-places were found radiated
iron pyrites to strike fire, cooking vessels, a doll, and wooden images of
persons. All this was discovered by Cormack's Expedition, 1827, which
crossed the island in search of Red Indians in behalf of the "Beothic
Society for the civilization of the native savages/ '

Lloyd mentions the fact, that the Red Indians obtained fire by igniting
the down of the bluejay by sparks struck from two pieces of iron pyrites
(v, p. 225). This bird is the Canadian jay, Corvus canadensis, and the
pyrites is known on the island by the term rnundic, "flint and steel,"
which seems to be of Cornish origin (J. P. Howley). They also were sup-
posed to be gifted with witchcraft, for when attacked, they could raise
a fog, in which they made their escape. The "Red Indian devil/ ' as
seen at Great Lake, was known by the name : ashmodshim or ashmodyim,
"wicked man." J. Peyton thought that if they had any worship at all,
it was that of the sun. To Mr. Howley he gave the following picture of
their exterior (Lloyd, v, p. 226) : ' ' The Beothuks were a much finer and
handsomer race than the Micmacs, having more regular features and aqui-
line noses ; nor were they so dark in the skin. They were of middle
stature, and of a very active build. They did not appear to be so fond of
gaudy colors as their continental neighbors."

To conclude this short expose of ethnologic peculiarities of the tribe, I
quote from Lloyd (v, p. 245) the conclusions embodying the results to
which his studies have led him :

"The Beothuks possessed, in many respects, characteristics belonging
to many of the tribes inhabiting the North American continent, whilst, on
the other hand, they appeared to differ from them in certain peculiarities,
which were as follows : Lightness of complexion. The use of trenches in
their wigwams for sleeping-places. The peculiar form of their canoes. The
custom of living in a state of isolation far apart from the white inhabitants
of the island, and their persistent refusal to submit to any attempts to civi-
lize them. The non-domestication of the dog amongst them. The art of
making pottery was unknown amongst them."

BIBLIOGRAPHY.

A list of printed books treating of Newfoundland during the period
from the discovery up to the year 1810 will be found in Bonnycastle's
vol. i, 336-344.

Articles and books on Newfoundland, in which express mention is made
of the Beothuk Indians, are contained in the following list, which makes
no pretense of being exhaustive :

Chappell, Lieut, Edw., Voyage to Newfoundland, Lond. 1818, 8vo,
illustrated. In the chapter treating of "Red Indians," pp. 169-187, he
quotes Whitbourne's "Discovrse and Discovery of New Foundland."

Bonnycastle, Sir B. H*, Newfoundland in 1842. Two vols. Lond.,
1842, 12mo. His chapter on Red Indians embraces i, pp. 251-278.

1885.1 41J> [Gatschet.

Jukes, J. B., of the Geolog. Survey. Excursions in and about New-
foundland. Two vols., 8vo, Lond., 1842, 12mo. On the Beothuks cf. ii,
126, 132, 133, 170-175.

Gobineau, Comte A. de; Voyage a Terre-Neuve, Paris, 1861.

Latham, Rob. Gordon; Comparative Philology. London, 1862, 8vo,
pp. 453-455.

Perley, Rev. Chas., the history of Newfoundland from the earliest times
to the year 1860. Lond., 1863, 8vo (with map). Cf. 338 sqq. The
Appendix vii, pp. 506-522, contains extracts from W. E. Cormack's
"Itinerary through the central parts of the island, ,, extending from
August 30 to the middle of November, 1822.

Tocque, Rev. Ph., Newfoundland as it was, etc. London, 1878 ; illustr.;
pp. 511.

J. Hatton and M. Harvey, Newfoundland, its history, etc. Boston, 1883.
On pp. 184-186, vocab. of Mary March. (Not seen by me).

Were published in the Journal of Anthropological Institute of Great
Britain and Ireland, the following four treatises :

Lloyd, T. G. B., M. A. I., On the Beothucs, a tribe of Red Indians, sup-
posed to be extinct, which formerly inhabited Newfoundland. Vol. iv,
1874, pp. 21-39, with vocabulary of Mary March, taken by the Rev. John
Leigh, and presented to Mr. John Peyton.

Lloyd, T. G. B. ; A further account of the Beothucs of Newfoundland.
Vol. v, 1875, pp. 222-230, with a plate.

Lloyd, T. G. B. ; On the Stone Implements of Newfoundland ; ibid. pp.
223-248. Three plates.

Busk, Geo., F.R.S., Description of two Beothuc skulls ; ibid. pp. 230-
232, one plate.

John Cartwright, Remarks on the Situation of the Red Indians, &c. ;
unpublished manuscript of 1768, now in possession of the Protestant Bishop
of Newfoundland, and extracted by Mr. Lloyd in his first article ; cf. iv,
p. 22 sqq.

LANGUAGE OF THE BEOTHUK.

The enumeration of ethnologic peculiarities of the Newfoundland tribe
in question is not the main purpose of the present article. The results
obtained by former writers from an investigation of their language not
proving satisfactory to me, I have subjected the fragments which have
reached down to our period to a new chirographic and critical examina-
tion, for the purpose of drawing all the conclusions that can fairly be
drawn from them for ascertaining affinities, and thereby shed some light
upon the origin of the Red Indians. This research I undertook partly on
my own impulse, partly upon the earnest solicitation of Mr. James P. How-
leys, surveyor and assistant geologist of the Government at St. John's, the
capital of Newfoundland. Through his numerous expeditions he has
become perfectly familiar with all parts of this large isle, which in the
extent of its area (42,000 square miles), closely approaches that of the

Gatschet.] 414: [June 19,

State of New York, and has in his long-sustained correspondence with me
evinced the greatest interest for all ethnologic problems and questions con-
nected with his "Terra Nova." With accuracy he compared the faulty
vocabulary published by Lloyd, and corrected about twenty -five of its
misspellings from the original, which is written in a sloven hand ; he
also gathered many words hitherto unknown from Cormack's manuscript
"Notes," and transmitted them all to me.

The information we possess of the Beothuk tongue was chiefly derived
from two women, and is almost exclusively of a lexical, not of a grammatic
nature. The points deducible from the vocabularies concerning the struc-
ture of the verb, noun, and sentence, the formation of compound terms,
the prefixes and suffixes of the language are very fragmentary and one-
sided. The mode of transcription is so defective that no vocabularies ever
have caused me so much trouble and uncertainty as these in obtaining
from them results available for science.

The two female informants had lived but a short time among the En-
glish-speaking population, and were not sufficiently acquainted with En-
glish to inspire much confidence in their accuracy. They were :

1. Demasduit, also called Waunathoake, and by the white people Mary
March, because captured on the fifth day of March, 1819. John Peyton,
who carried on considerable salmon fisheries in the north of the island^
had suffered much by the depredations of the Beothuk, He and his party
met her, her husband and another man of the tribe on the frozen Red
Indian Pond, on the principal tributary of Exploits River, engaged them
in a fight, killed her husband, and brought herself to St. John's, where she
stayed during the rest of the year, and died at sea of a pulmonary disease,
on her return home, January 8, 1820, about twenty -three years old. She
furnished a vocabulary of her language (about 180 words) to the Rev. John
Leigh, who presented it to Mr. John Peyton ; it is printed in Lloyd's
article, iv, pp. 37-39. A. miniature of her will be found in Tocque's Wan-
dering Thoughts, p. 373, and Bonnycastle i, 276, describes her as follows :
"Hair like that of an European, black eyes, skin copper color, docile,
very active, agreeable in demeanor ; in this respect she differed much from
the Micmacs and other Indians." Thomas Taylor, a man present at her
capture, was still alive in 1884.

2. Shanandithit or Shawnadithit, afterwards called Nancy, was, with
two daughters, brought to St. John's in 1823 by William Call, starvation
being the cause of their surrender. Shanandithit lived in W. E. Cor-
mack's house* until he left the colony, and the daughters returned to
their tribe ; then stopped at the house of the attorney-general, Mr. Simms,
and subsequently at John Peyton's house. About 50 years old, she fell
sick and died of consumption in 1829, at the hospital of St. John's. When
in 1825 she procured a Beothuk skull for Cormack, she asserted that only
fourteen individuals remained of her tribe. Mrs. Peyton, who still lives at

* Mr. Cormack was a man of intellectual acquirements, having followed a
course of studies at Edinburgh University.

1£85.] 415 [Gatschet.

an advanced age at Toulinguet, Notre Dame Bay (Mr. Peyton died in 1883,
over 90 years old), took peculiar charge of Shanandithit and states that
drawings made by her are still extant. From her and other sources
Cormack obtained a vocabulary, which seems more reliable and phonetic-
ally more accurate than the one obtained from Mary March. The pho-
netics of Beothuk impressed Cormack as "resembling less the other
Indian languages than the European ;" by the latter he probably meant
those spoken upon the British Islands. Together with Beothuk imple-
ments, etc., he sent it to the address of Dr. Yates, England.

Further comments on the language, ethnologic and historic remarks on
this curious people are reserved for a subsequent article. Below I repro-
duce the terms written in the same manner as transmitted, using the fol-
lowing abbreviations :

ABBREVIATIONS.

O. — Cormack' s vocabulary ; obtained from Shanandithit and others.

Howl. — Corrections of Leigh's printed vocabulary from his own manu-
script, made by Mr. James P. Howley.

K. — Vocabulary of Dr. King, transmitted by Rob. Gordon Latham,
London, in April, 1883. The words were probably furnished by Shanan-
dithit to Cormack.

No Letter, — Rev. John Leigh's vocabulary, obtained from Demasduit.

VOCABULARY.

a-aduth seal-spear, C. Cf. amina.

abemite gaping.

abideshook ; abedesoot K, domestic cat ; cf. bidesook.

abidish "martin cat," marten. Micmacs call him cat ; the whites of New-
foundland call a young seal : cat or harp-seal, because a white de-
sign visible on their backs resembles a harp.

abobidress /eaters; cf. ewinon.

abodoneek bonnet, C. abadung-eyk hat K.

adadimite or adadimiute ; andemin K. spoon ; cf. a-enamin.

adamadret ; adamatret K. gun, Wifie,

adenishit stars ; cf. shawwayet a star K.

adizabad zea white wife.

adjith to sneeze.

adoltkhtek, adolthtek K., adolthe ; odeothyke C. boat, vessel. Seems to
imply the idea of being pointed or curved ; cf. a-aduth, adothook ;
dhodrado, tapathook.

adosook K., aa-dazook C. eight; ee-aa-dazook eighteen, C.

adothook ; adooch K. fishhook.

adzeech K. ; adasic ; adzeich C, two ; ee-adzike twelve, C. ; adzeich dthp-
6nut twenty C.

aduse leg ; kdiyoxtili foot K.

a-enamin bone, C.

Gatschet.] 41t) [June 19,

a-eshemeet lumpfish, C.

ae-u-eece snail, K.

ae-waeen C. ; cf. ee-wa-en.

agamet ; aegumet K. buttons ; money.

aguathoonet grindstone.

ahune, ahunes, oun K. rocks. Misspelt ahmee (Lloyd).

ajeedick or vieedisk K. Hike.

akustliibit (ac- in original) to kneel.

amet awake, C.

amina deer-spear C.

atnshut to get up ; cf. amet. Howley supposes this to be from the same
word as gamy ess, q. v.

anadrik sore throat ; cf. tedesheet.

anin comet ; cf. anun spear {in skies f)

anyemen, anyemen, bow, K. ; der. from annoo-ee, q. v.

annawhadya bread, K. Cf. manjebathook.

annoo-ee tree ; forest, woods K.

anun spear, C. cf. a-aduth, amina, anin, annoo ee.

anwoy ding consort ; husband, when said by wife ; wife when said by hus-
band. Cf. zathrook.

a-oseedwit 1 am sleepy, K.

aoujet snipe : Oallinago wilsonia, of genus Scolopacidce.

apparet o bidesook sunken seal.

ardobeeshe and madobeesh twine, K. cf. meroobish.

ashaboo-uth, C. ; iggobauth blood, C. cf. ebanthoo.

ashautch meat ; flesh, K.

ashei lean, thin; sick.

ashmudyim devil, "bad man" C. ; cf. muddy. The spelling of the first

syllable is doubtful,
ashwameet, ashumeet, mythological symbol drawn by Shanandithit :

Ash wan, nom. pr., Eskimo.

a3hwoging C. ; ashoging K,, arrow; cf. dogernat.

asson ; asson K. sea-gull.

ass-soyt angry, C.

athess ; athep K. to sit down.

awoodet singing.

baasfck bead, C, bethec necklace.

baasothnut ; beasd.hunt, beasothook K. gunpowder ; cf. basdic.

badisut dancing.

baetha go home, K. becket? where do you got baeodut out of doors, or to

go out of doors, K. These three words all seem to belong to the

same verb,
baroodisick thunder.

1885.J 417 [Gatschet.

basdic ; basdick K. smoke ; cf. baasothnut.

bashedtheek ; beshed K. six, C. Rigadosik six in Leigh's voc. seems to
point to another dialect. Ee-beshedtheek sixteen, C.

bashoodite Howl, to bite.

bashubet scratch (verb?)

bathuc; badoese K., watshoosooch K. rain; cf. ebanthoo.

baubooshrat^8^, K. ; cf. bobboosoret codfish.

bebadrook nipper (moskito).

bedejamish bewajowite May, C. cf. kosthabondng bewajowit.

beodet money ; cf. agamet, baasick.

Beothuk, BeothichK. ; B£hat-hook K. ; Bceothuck (in Howley's corresp.) ;
Beathook. (1) Indian; (2) Red Indian, viz. Indian of Newfound-
land, cf. haddabothic.

berrooick or berroich clouds.

betheoate good night.

bibidegemidic berries ; cf. manus.

bidesook ; beadzuck, bidestik K. seal. Cf. abideshook, apparet.

bidisoni sword.

bituwait to lie down.

boad thumb, K.

bobbidist Howl. ; bobbodish K. pigeon (guillemot, a sea bird). A spe-
cies of these, very abundant in Newfoundland, is Lomma troile.

bobbiduishemet lamp ; cf. boobeeshawt, mondicuet and emet oil.

bobboosoret codfish ; is the same word as baubooshrat.

bogathflowytch, to kill, K. buhashauwite to beat, bobathoowytch! beat
him! Beating and killing are frequently expressed by the same
term in Indian languages. Cf. datyuns.

bogodoret ; bedoret, bgdoret K. heart.

bogomot or bogomat breast, K. boghmoot woman's breast, K. bodch*
moot bosom, C. bemoot breast, C. Cf. bogodoret.

boyish birch bark ; by-yeech birch tree, K.

boobasha, boobasha warm, K. cf. obosheen.

boobeeshawt fire, K. cf . bobbiduishemet.

boochauwhit lam hungry, K. cf. pokoodoont.

boodowit duck ; cf. eesheet, mameshet.

bootzhawet sleep (verb ?) K. ; cf . isedoweet.

boos seek blunt, C. ; pronounced biisik.

botomet onthermayet ; botothunet outhermayet Howl., teeth (?).

buhashamesh white boy, C. buggishamesh boy, K.

buhashauwite ; cf. bogathoowytch.

bukashaman, bookshimon man ; buggishaman white man, K.

butterweye tea K. (English.)

carmtack to speak, K. ; ieroothack, jeroothack speak, K.

cheashit to groan,

cockaboset ; cf. geswat.

dabseek C, dabzeek K., abodoesic/ow; ee-dsibzook fourteen, C.

PROC. AMER. PHILOS. SOC. XXII. 120. 3A. PRINTED AUGUST 14, 1885.

Gatschet.] 418 [June 19,

dattomeish ; dottomeish K. trout.

datyuns or datyurs not kill (?), K.

dauoosett lam hungry, K., probably false ; cf. boochauwhit.

debine Howl., deboin K. egg.

deddoweet ; didoweet K., saw, subst.

deh-hemin ! Howl, dayliemiii ! K. give me!

deed-rasliow red, K.

deiood ! come with us ! K. dyoom ! come hither ! K. dyoot thouret !

come hither ! C. toouet (to) come, K. nadyed you come back, K.
deyn-yad, pi. deyn-yadrook bird, C.
Demasduit, nom. pr. of Mary March,
deschudodoick to blow, C.
dho drado large boat, K., cf. adoltkhtek.
dingyam, dhingyam K., thengyam clothes.

dogajavick fox, K., cf. deed-rasliow red ; the common fox is the red fox.
dogernat arrow, kind of.

Doodebewshet, nom. pr. of Nancy's mother, C.
(XootYiuiL forehead, K.
dosomite K., dosomite pin.

drona ; drone-ooch K. hair ; the latter form apparently a plural,
dthoonanyen, thinyun hatchet, K.
dtho-6nut, C. ; cf. adzeech.
ebanthoo ; ebadoe K. water.
ebathook to drink, K. ; zebathoong to drink water, K. cf. ebanthoo,

bathuc.
edat or edot fishing line ; cf. a-aduth, adothook.
edrii or edree ; edachoom K. otter.
e'jabathook, ejabathhook K., sail; edjabathook sails.
ee — composes the numerals of the first decad from 11 to 19; it is prefixed

to them and emphasized. Cf. the single numerals.
eegfat, adj.

eenoaja cold {called?) K.
een6dsha to hear, K. ; cf. noduera.
eesheet duck, K. ; probably abbrev. of mameshet, q. v.
eeshoo make haste.
eeseeboon cap, K.
eeshang-eyghth blue, C.
eewa-en ; aewa-en K., hewhine, 6-owin K. knife; cf. oun. Leigh has

also : nine, probably misspelt for : wine (wa-en).
egibididuish, K., egibidinish silk handkerchief.
ejew to see, K. ; pronounced idshu.

emamoose, immamoose woman ; emmamoose white woman, K.
emamooset child ; girl ; emmamooset white girl, K.
emet ; emet K. oil ; composes bobbidaishemet and odemet, q. v.
emoethook ; emmathook K. dogwood (genus : Comus) or mountain ash

(Populw tremuloides).

1885.] 41 J [Gatschet.

ethenwit ; etherwit Howl. fork.

euano to go out ; enano go out, Howl.

ewinon feather, K.

gaboweete breath, C.

gamyess get up, Howl.

gasook or yasook, yosook dry K. ; gasuck, gassek ; K. stockings.

gausep dead, K. ; gosset death, and dead, K.

geonet tern, turr, a sea-swallow : Lomvia tro'ile (also called Urea tro'ile).
K. has geonet fur.

ge-oun K. ; gown chin.

geswat/ear, K, ; cockaboset ! no fear ! do not be afraid /K.

gheegnyan, geegn-yan, K., guinya eye.

gheen K., geen (or gun?) nose.

gidyeathuc wind.

gigarimanet K., giggeramanet ; giggamahet Howl. net.

gobidin eagle, C.

godabonyeesh November, C.

godabonyegb, October, C.

godawik shovel ; cf. hadowadet.

gonathun-keathut Howl. ; cf. keathut.

goosheben lead (v. or subst. ?).

gotbeyet ticklas (tern), a bird of the Genus Sterna; species not identifia-
ble, perhaps macrura, which is frequent in Newfoundland (H. W.
Henshaw).

gowet scollop or frill ; a bivalve, Pecten.

guashawit puffin ; a bird of the Alcidm family : Lunda cirrhata.

guashuwit ; gwashuwet, whashwitt, washawet K. bear.

guathin, cf. keathut.

gungewook Howl, mainland.

haddabothic body ; hadabatheek belly, C. ; contains beothuk, q. v.

hadalahSt K. ; hadibiet glass, cf. nadalahet.

hadowadet shovel, K. ; cf. godawik.

hanawasutt hatfish or halibut, K.

\mnyees finger, K.

haoot the devil, K.

hodamishit knee.

homedich, homedick, ooindzech K., good.

ibadinnam to run, K. cf. wothamashet.

immamooset, cf. emamoose.

isedoweet to sleep ; cf. bootzhawet.

itweena thumb, cf. boad.

iwish hammer, K. ; cf. mattuis.

jewmetchem, jewmetcheen soon, K.

jiggamint gooseberry.

yaseek C, yazeek K., gathet one ; ee-yaziech eleven, C.

yeathun, ethath yes, K.

Gatschet.J 420 [June 19,

yeothoduc nine, C. ; ee-ye*othoduck nineteen, C.

yeech short, K.

kaasussabook, causasbow snow, K.

kadimishuite tickle : a rapid current in a narrow channel of the sea.

kaesinguinyeet blind, C. ; from gasook dry, gheenyan eye.

kannabuch long, K.

kawingjemeesh shake hands, K.

keathut, gonathun-keathut ; ge-outhuk K., guathin ; head, keoosock,

kaasook hill, K.
kewis, kuis, ewis, keeoose K. sun; moon; watch. Kuis half moon: a mytho-

logic symbol drawn by Shanandithit : I p.

kingiabit to stand.

kobshuneesamut (ee accented) January, C.

koshet to fall.

kosthabon6ng bewajowit February, C. For the last part of word, cf. bede-

jatnish bewajowite.
kosweet K., osweet deer.
kowayaseek July, C. ; contains yazeek one.
kusebeet louse.

lathun ; lathum (?) trap, K. cf. shabathoobet.
madabooch milk, K.
madyrut hiccough.
maduck, maduch to morrow, K.
maemed, maelmed ; me wet hand, K. ; cf. meesh in kawingjemeesh ; mee-

man monasthus to shake hands, memayet arms.
magaraguis, mageragueis son, K.
magorun ; magorum K. deer's horns.
mamashee K. ; mamzhing ship, vessel.
mamatrabet a long (illegible ; song ?) K.
mameshet ; memeshet Howl, ducks and drakes, (drake: male duck.)

Probably the mallard duck, Anas boschas.
mameshook ; mamudthun K. mouth ; cf. memasook.
mammateek, cf. meotick.
mamishet, mamset, mamseet K., mamisut C alive. Doodebewshet mam-

ishet gayzoot, or : D. mamsheet gayzhoot, Doodebewihet is alive,

K. mamset life K.
Mamjaesdoo, nom. pr. of Nancy's father.

mammadronit (or -nut) lord bird; or harlequin duck. Contains : drona.
mammasheek islands ; cf. mamashee.
mammasaveet (or mammoosernlt J. Peyton), mamasameet K., mamud-

thuk, mamadthut K. dog. matnmusemitch, pi. mammasavit puppy.
mamshet ; maumsheet K. beaver, (simply: animal.)
manaboret K., manovoonit Howl, blanket.
manamiss March, month of; C.
mandeweech, maudweech bushes, K.

1885.] *±m\. [Gatschet,

mandzey; mamdsei K., raandzyke C. black.

manjebathook bread, C.

manegemethon shoulder.

mangaroonish or mangaroouish sun; probably son, cf. magaraguis.

manune pitcher, cup.

manus berries, K. ; cf. bibidegemidic.

marineuk eyebrow.

marot to smell, K. (v. intr. ?)

massooch, masooch salt water, K.

inatheoduc to cry.

mathik, mattic stinking ; mattic bidesuk stinking, rotten seal, K. ; mathic

bidesook stinking seal. Cf. marot.
mattuis Howl, hammer ; cf. iwish.

memasook ; mamudth-uk, mamadth-ut K. tongue ; cf. mameshook.
memayet arms ; cf. maemed.
meotick, meeootick, mae-adthike K. house, wigwam, mammatik house.

mammateek Howl. : winter wigwam, meothick house, hut, tilt camp,

K. (probably a windbreak),
meroobish thread ; cf. ardobeeshe.
messiliget-hook baby, K.

methabeet cattle, K. ; nethabete "cows and horses."
miaoth to fly.

modthamook sinew of deer, K.

moeshwadit drawing (?) ; mohashaudet or meheshaudet drawing knife K.
moidensu comb.
moisamadrook wolf.

mokotliut, species of a blunt- nosed fish, C.

monasthus {to touch?), meeman monasthus to shake hands. Cf. maemed.
mondicuet lamp, K. ; cf. bobbiduishemet.
moocus elbow.

Moomesdick, nom. pr. of Nancy's grandfather,
mooshaman ; mootchiman K. ear.
moosin moccasin K. ; mosen shoe, K.
moosindgei-jebursut ankle, C. ; contains moosin.
mossessdeesh, cf. mozazeosh.
motheryet cream jug; cf. nadalahet.
mowageenite iron.
mowead trousers, K.

mozazeosh, mogazeesh ; K., Red Indian boy; mossessdeesh Indian boy, C.
muddy, mandee, K., mud'tiC, bad; dirty, miideet bad man, C. ; cf. ash-

mudyim.
nadalahet cream-jug ; cf. hadalah&, motheryet.
nechwa tobacco, K. ; deh>hemin neechon 1 give me tobacco I Howl,
newin, newim no, K.

ninezeek, C, nunyetheek K., nijeek, nijeck five; ee-ninezeek fifteen, C.
noduera, to hear, K. Cf. eentfdsha.

Gatschet.] 422 [-j une 19>

Nonosabasut, nom. pr. of Demasduit's husband ; tall 6' 7J inches,
oadjameet C, to boil, as water ; v. trans, or intr. ? moodamutt to boil, v.

trans. C.
obosheen warming yourself ; cf. boobasha.
obsedeek gloves, K.
obseet little bird (species of?), C.
odasweeteeshamut December, C. ; cf. odusweet.
odemen, ode-einin K., odemet ochre; cf. emet.
odensook ; odizeet, odo-ezheet K. goose; cf. ee3heet duck.
odishuik to cut.
odjet lobster, K. and Leigh,
odoit to eat ; cf. pokoodoont.

odusweet; edusweet K. hare; cf. kosweet, odasweeteeshamut.
oodratK., woodruty&rtf; cf. boobeeshawt.

o-odosook; oodzook, C, ode-5zook K. seven ; ee-oodzook seventeen, C.
ooish lip.,

oosuck wife ; cf. woas-sut.
osavate to row ; cf. wotha- in : wothamashet.
oseenyet K., ozegeen Howl, scissors.
osthuk tinker (J, Peyton) ; also called guillemot, a sea bird of the genus

Urea. Species not identifiable,
oun ; cf. ahune.
owasboshno-un (?) C. whale's tail; a mythologic emblem drawn by

D=

Shanandithit : } f ■ ... Dr. Dawson thinks it

is a totem,
ozeru ; ozrook K. ice.

podibeak ; podybear Howl, oar, paddle. Cf. 03avate.
pokoodoont, pokoodsont, bocootyone to eat, K. ; cf. odoit.
poochauwhat to go to bed, K. cf. a-oseedwit.
pugathoite to throw.
quadranuek ; quadranuk K. gimlet.
quish nails.

shabathoobet Howl., shabathootet trap.

shamoth ; thimook, shamook, shaamoc K. capelan ; a fish species.
Shanandithit, C, Shawnadithit, nom. pr. of Nancy, a Beothul^: woman.
Shanung, Shonack, Shawnuk, Shannok, nom. pr., Micmac Indian, Shonack

"bad Indians/' Micmacs ; cf. Sho-udamunk.
shapoth K., shaboth candle.
shansee C. and K. ; theant ten.

Shawatharott, Shawdtharut, nom. pr., Bed Indian man. Cf. zathrook.
shawwayet a star ; cf. adenishit.

shebohoweet K., shebohowit ; sheebuint C. woodpecker*
shebon, sheebin river, brook, K.
shedbasing wathik upper arm, C.

1885.] 423 [Gatschet.

shedothun, shedothoon sugar, K.

sheedeneesheet cocklebur, K.

sheganaite to blow the nose.

shema bogosthuc moskito ; cf. bebadrook.

shendeekC, shendee K., thedsic^ree; ee-shendeek thirteen, shendeek
dtho-dnut thirty, C.

shewthake grinding stone, K. ; cf. aguathoonet.

shoe-wana, shuwan water bucket, of birch bark ; drinking cup, K. shoe-
wan- yeesh small stone vessel, C. A drawing of a shuwan, made by
Shanandithit, has been preserved (Howley).

Shd-udamunk (from Peyton) nom. pr. of the Mountaineer (or Algonkin)
Indians of Labrador, Naskapi, or " good Indians." Cf. Shanung.

sosheet bat, K.

shucododimet K. ; shucodimit a plant called Indian cup.

tapathook ; dapathook K. canoe ; cf. adoltkhtek.

tedesheet neck ; throat.

theehone heaven, K.

thengyam clothes ; cf. dingyam.

thine I thank you.

thooret ! come hither! abbrev. from the full dyoot thouret, C, cf. deiood !

thoowidgee to swim.

toouet ; cf. deiood !

wabee wet, K. ; probably misunderstood for white.

wadawhegh August, C.

wasemook salmon, K. cf. wothamashet.

washa-geuis K., washewnish moon.

washawet, whashwitt K., cf. guashuwit.

washewtch K. ; washeu night ; darkness. Cf. month's names.

washoodiet, wadshoodet to shoot, K.

wasumaweeseek April; June ; September, C. Said to mean " first sunny
month/' Cf. wasemook.

watshoosooch rain, K. ; cf. bathic.

wathik arm, C. watheekee the whole arm, K. ; cf. shedbasing.

Waunathoake, nom. pr. of Mary March (Howley).

wawashemet 6-6 win moo meshduck we give you (thee 1) a knife, K.

weenoun cheek, K. ; cf. ge-oun.

weshomesh (Lloyd : washemesh) herring ; cf. wothamashet. Mr, Howley
thinks that Washimish, the name of an island, contains this term.

whadicheme, cf. bogathoowytch.

widumite to kiss.

woadthoowin, woad-'fcoowin spider, K.

woas-eeash, woas-eesh Red Indian girl, K.

woas-sut Red Indian woman, K. ; same as oosuck.

wobee white, K. ; cf. wabee.

wobesheet sleeve, K.

woin Howl. ; waine hoop.

Kirk wood.] 424 [July 17,

woodch blackbird, C.
woodum pond, K.

wothamashet Lloyd : to run ; woothyat to walk.
zathrook husband ; cf. anwoyding.
zeek necklace, K. ; abbr. from baasick (?)

ztfsoot K., zosweet partridge. Ptarmigan is added to the term ; but a ptar-
migan {Lagopus alba) is not a partridge.

Beothuk Song preserved by Cormack :
Sugut if bafu buth
baonsheen odsadooosh edabauseek.

As there is no f in this language, the copying or the phonetics of this
song must be partially faulty.

The Comet of 1866 and the Meteors of November 14th. By Professor Daniel

Kirkwood.

{Read before the American Philosophical Society, July 17, 1885.)

The probable recognition of several ancient returns of the first comet
of 1866, together with the identification of an additional number of star-
showers related historically to this comet as their source ; the further con-
firmation of the existence of three distinct meteoric clusters all moving in
the orbit of Temper s comet ; and the data thus afforded for studying the
structure and history of this interesting part of the solar system, afford
sufficient reason for the following rediscussion of the facts now known in
regard to the origin and history of the November meteors.

TempeVs Comet of 1866.
On the 19th of December, 1865, a small comet was discovered by M.
Tempel, of Marseilles. It was generally observed till the following Feb-
ruary ; and, although an inconspicuous object, its relations to the earth
and Uranus have given it an importance equaled by few comets recorded
in history. It orbit was computed by Dr. Oppolzer, of Vienna, who found
the time of revolution to be 33.176 years. Later researches, however,
give 33.28 years as the more probable period. The comet seemed much
smaller in 1865-6 than at any previously observed return — a fact indica-
tive of its gradual dissolution. Its apparent magnitude, however, at any
apparition, would evidently depend on the time of the year at which it
passed its perihelion. Comets are recorded in the years 1733, 1699, and
1399, corresponding to dates at which Tempers comet was due ; but
these returns are to be regarded as doubtful. In 1866 Professor H. A.
Newton suggested that the comet of that year was a return of one discov-
ered in China, August 26, 1366, and which passed its perihelion October